Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Fall has Begun! We are hosting our 5th annual Halloween Daytime Trick-or-Treating Event and Costume Mini-Session on Saturday October 28th, 2017. I love seeing all the children year after year knock on my door in their adorable little costumes. Whether it's something amazingly intricate that Grandma made, or a quick costume you bought from the grocery store, we always have a lot of fun in the studio taking all kinds of pictures. We will have our base set, then usually a few different activities or tricks up our sleeve to get the children to participate and have some fun to get those genuine smiles. Come trick-or-treat at our door and stay for your costume mini-session!

PACKAGE DETAILS: There are several options of types of packages from prints, to collector's magnets that you get each year, to 4x4" Acrylic Blocks that you can decorate for Halloween with year after year, even after the children are grown. Then of course there are digital packages too! Any image that is included with your package will be posted in low-res to our Ell Photography Facebook album (unless you request to withhold yours), so even if you just get the magnet or acrylic block package, you'll still have one low-res digital to share with friends and family! If you order a digital package, you will receive the images promptly via Dropbox and can choose from those which to fulfill your magnet, prints, or acrylic block!

SHIPPING: Shipping is included in the checkout for Halloween sessions, so please make sure to type in your valid mailing address! The fall and holidays are so busy, we find it's easiest to mail them home!

EARLY BIRD: Book your Halloween Costume Mini-Session before October 1st and get Early Bird Pricing on Digital Packages!

SIBLINGS: We are excited for our 5th Halloween mini-session What we have learned from experience is that when there is more than one munchkin in a costume, there is a lot going on, and it is best if you add some extra time. Since mini-sessions are only 15 minutes, if you have more than one child and any of the children are under 6, please add an extra 15 min of time to your booking so we can capture each child at their best or good ones of them together! We don't like the "smiling or screaming" policy many studio's have for their mini-sessions. We want great pictures of them having fun! Every year there is a family that doesn't think they will need the time, but the children are overly excited for Halloween, and we have to go overtime to get good photos of them together or have enough time for individuals. We don't want to go overtime and be late for the next family, so we have made the extra time affordable. You can either add a second package if you want one product of each child to do individuals, or we can do them together and you can just add the extra time. Thank you for your consideration!

EARLY BIRD BOOKING

Package - For 2+ children, pls add extra sibling time to order

Time Slot

Child's Name

HALLOWEEN MINI-SESSION BOOKING

Package - For 2+ children, pls add extra sibling time to order

Time Slot

Child's Name

ADDITIONAL TIPS

SHY CHILDREN: If you know your child might take a little bit to warm up to a new situation or location, you have two options. You may come early and play in the lobby (but you may not watch in or distract prior sessions). Many families also choose to add extra time, even for just one child to make sure they are warmed up, happy, and get good smiles!

HOW TO GET THE BEST PHOTOS IN A MINI SESSION: Every parenting style is different, but here is what I have learned works best to get children to participate!
* Have your child try on or play in their costume the day before so you make sure it fits and they feel comfortable in it and are not scared of it since it is new (and sometimes more confining than regular clothes).
* Make sure the costume is not uncomfortable. Clip any tags that might be scratchy. If there is a tulle tutu or other scratchy parts, have them wear leggings underneath, or an undershirt or onesey between the skin and the itchy part.
* In general, the children will be sitting or standing, so barefeet is the best unless the shoes are part of the costume. If the child is not yet walking, please do not have them wear shoes as all we will see is the soles.
* Make sure to get your child to nap appropriately for their start time and try not to give them candy, sugar, or anything new before the session that would throw their regular energy cycle off.
* Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Make sure they are not too hot or cold, make sure they have a good meal before coming and bring water or a light colored juice (like apple juice) in case they are thirsty.
** IMPORTANT: (Again, I do not want to tell you how to parent your children, but this is my experience with hundreds of families) RESIST ALL URGES TO BRIBE YOUR CHILDREN!! If children are too young to understand bribes, they want the reward in question NOW, and do not understand later. If they do understand bribes, they generally will do the most minimum thing possible to get the reward.
* Instead, try to make the mini-session sound fun and all the things they can do to act like their costume character and how their grandparents and aunts and uncles can't wait to see photos of them in their costume! Treat the session as a play-date and show them how much fun they will have!
* Last but not least, if your child is a bit obstinate, or unhappy, DO NOT let them see your frustration, keep trying to make the activities fun up until the time is up. When a parent snaps, there are more emotional obstacles to overcome (fear, shame, hurt feelings & tears, anger, frustration) to get to that happy place where we get good pictures.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

We had an amazing turnout for this year's Spring Babies Mini-Session! Seriously, can these kiddos with the little babies be any cuter!?! This is one mini-session I look forward to each year because the children are sooo happy and so adorable when they get to hold all the little animals. Every year it's a little different with what babies are born at that time, but it's such a sweet photo session!!

This session wouldn't happen without the support and help from my friends!! Thank you to Stephanie and Aldo who let us use their barn. Thank you to El Pinto Restaurant for the baby chicks and thank you to Laura Gene for letting us borrow her baby goats from ABQ Miniature Farms!

Here's a few of my favorites. Just look at the wild glee and the genuine smiles!!! Sooo cute I can't stand it!!!

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Back by popular demand - we are hosting the 2017 Spring Baby Photobooth at a barn in Corrales this year! We will have baby ducklings, newborn chicks, kid goats, and puppies!

SIGN UP BELOW!!

Here are just a few of my favorites from last year! This photography session is great for all ages. Last year we had ranging from children 3 months to 14 years. If you have more than 1 child, please book two back-to-back session times so that we can get individuals of each child and a few of the siblings together. If you have 3-4 children, you may also book two back-to-back sessions, but we will photograph them all together for the full time. In each session, you will be able to take photos with different baby animals - you choose which you want to do first!!

With each session, you will receive am 8x10" Canvas Gallery Mini. It is printed on canvas material and mounted to a thin rigid board. It comes with an optional easel, but the board will also fit into a frame if you prefer.

One of my clients last year sent me this picture she took of what she did with her canvas boards. She purchased her own easels and put them with her Easter and Spring decorations and brought them out again this year!

Just from posting on my Facebook page, the day almost completely booked up, so we extended the end time to add extra afternoon sessions. Below are the remaining timeslots.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

It's my favorite time of year again and I can't wait to see the kiddies in their costumes!!! Halloween falls on a Monday this year, but we are hosting our annual Halloween Open House on Saturday, October 29th. If we fully fill up, we may also extend to the 30th.

To make things easy this year, we have online signups! Each session will include 15 minutes on set and 15 minutes to pick out your photos.
SIBLINGS:
If you have more than one child, please book two sessions back to back so that we have extra time. If you only want photos of them together, you still need to book two sessions back to back. (After 3 consecutive years of experience with this event, with 2-4 siblings, you really do need at least double the time.) If the day fills up and you are not able to book two back to back, please contact me and I can see if other families could shift to make room, or we may need to open up a second day.

PACKAGES:
There are several different package options. The newest option is the 4x4 Acrylic block. It is about 1 inch thick and a very cute keepsake to put out every Halloween! You may also choose from the magnet like last year, a small or large print package, or the Digital USB Creative Costume package. Since these buttons "add to cart", you may also add a full USB to any package.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

As I walk out on my back porch after dinner I can just feel the light change from late summer to fall. I've been doing a lot of head shots for women lately here in Albuquerque. The light is so gorgeous that when we shoot downtown, the urban background turns into a creamy backdrop and reflects beautiful diffused light over their skin. Although I retouch every headshot image, the early autumn light kisses their cheeks so I really don't have to do too much to their skin. This is my new favorite spot for female professional headshots in Albuquerque. See what you think :)

Susan needed some business card photos for her new Real Estate company. Her boss thought she was so pretty, he wants to make her the face of her company!! You might see these in a few new Real Estate ads sometime soon.

This young gal is a social media and SEO expert and needed a headshot for her website and business cards. (She just got married the week before in AZ - can you tell she's still glowing!!!)

Elke is also a Realtor, and I loved this photo of her. I loved the chunky necklace that she brought with her. This last photo is of Susan again. She brought along an old high school friend for moral support and he just bought a new Viper - so of course we had to take the obligatory hot rod photo!! :)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Kelly and her family are from Santa Fe, NM and ventured down to Albuquerque for a little adventure with brand new Mia and their 2 year old, Alexander. She brought her parents to help out with the older one and take him to the park after he rocked his part of the photoshoot. He was very excited to see that Baby Mia came out of mom's tummy and was now here to hold and cuddle with. He is a very loving and gentle older brother. After the photo shoot and the park, he told his grandparent's "This is the best day EVER!"

I love little Mia's big lips and tiny fingers. She is so cute and slept through her entire shoot. Not too bad for an eventful Day 4 of her life!

I found the wooden bowl at an antique store and the teal boucle scarf was her mom's. We put her in a silver alloy Nambe platter with her little scarf to keep her warm. Even when she woke up towards the end, she let me pose her little hands to be so cute. She was so cute and posed for us like a little model.